Electronics, Music and Technology

bluetooth

Currently my phone is simply connected to my radio’s AUX input with a cable, and if I want to change songs I must do so from the phone. Modern raidos have integrated Bluetooth capabilities, allowing you to pair your radio to your phone wirelessly. In some cases, pausing and skipping tracks can be done directly from the radio’s buttons – safer than waking up and unlocking your phone to change songs within the music player app.

I could have purchased such a radio, but I already had a perfectly fine JVC unit I installed not even two years ago. It has two AUX inputs, the one in the front I’ve been using, and a special Bluetooth AUX input in the rear. Although designed for use with a JVC accessory, I decided to build my own Bluetooth receiver for my car.

For Christmas, I asked my sister for a pair of Bluetooth headphones. I had wanted a pair for a while, but the biggest concern I had was quality, but hand in hand with that is price. I read many reviews about headsets in the $50-$80 range, and many of them complained of sound dropping, artifacting, tinny sound, empty bass. This was the highest I was willing to pay for BT headphones, and even at that, I wanted excellent quality for that price. Then I came across these:

These Nexxtech “Soaring” Bluetooth headphones were on sale for $19.99 at the time. I thought, “hey, these have the same kind of reviews as the $60 units. Since they are more affordable, and would be a great gift idea, I’ll try them out.” So, when Christmas came, these were the headphones I got.

I used them a few times, but it wasn’t until college resumed that they were getting more usage. I found they were fairly comfortable to wear (as long as you have hair that covers your ears), and that the sound quality was actually exceptional. Not as in, “I can tell it is Bluetooth but I don’t mind.” I mean, it sounded as close to wired headphones as it could get. My friends were equally impressed.

Unfortunately, clarity does not mean frequency response. The bass lacked punch, dubstep did not tickle my eardrums like other headphones. It suffered from Generic Driver Syndrome – standard, run of the mill, $10 headphone speakers.